NXT Preview - October 17, 2020

The final episode from last NXT taping’s airs tonight, and WWE is promoting a double main event for this episode.

A recap of last week’s action:

• Tommaso Ciampa & Velveteen Dream cut promos on each other. Nikki Cross interrupts them both claiming she knows. Sadly, no triple threat was booked.
• Keith Lee defeats Kona Reeves.
• Ricochet defeats Pete Dunne & Adam Cole to retain the NXT North American Championship.

As always, I’m Parker Love – here with your weekly NXT Preview!

The Main Event

Since WWE is promoting it as a double main event, why don’t we?

The first match featured is the rematch between Bianca Belair & Nikki Cross. Belair has benefited hugely from this feud, and will likely even more once she goes over. In ring, shes been great - and she seems to be getting more comfortable in her tweener/heel character. However, Nikki Cross has been NXT’s MVP lately. Being featured in two huge storylines thus far, with this feud and as a centerpiece of Aleister Black’s angle, just shows the faith NXT has in her. I’m surprised this match isn’t being saved for a Takeover though, or even Evolution.

Obligatory .gif, because damn this is impressive. 

The second match advertised will be the NXT Tag Team Championship Match. The War Raiders have long had their eyes on the belts held by Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly, and the numbers game of the Undisputed Era has kept them on top for almost all of their NXT run. But will the numbers game help them tonight against these behemoths? Or will we see the beginning of the build to the long-rumored War Games match between these two teams?

Other Segments

Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch are in action tonight, taking on Cezar Bononi & Adrian Jaoude. Expect a Miracle or Rocky level upset here. These two self-proclaimed “average blokes” are an extremely fun team to watch, and I do hope they get a bit of a run in the tag title scene again. If you aren’t familiar, watch their match against Strong & O’Reilly and see how good these guys can be. Their sitdown interview was great- but they can go two ways. The “Who is Roderick Strong” way, or the “Who are TM-61” way.

As well, Shayna Baszler is taking a break from her fight camp to wrestle tonight. Fun Fact! The women she’ll be wrestling is Dr. Britt Baker. As fun as it would be to see Ms. Adam Cole take on Baszler in a competitive match, it boils down to one fact. One is a contracted performer for WWE, and one is not. Look for the Queen of Spades to get some serious momentum before her match with Kairi Sane. 

Champion’s Corner

Velveteen Dream made his intentions to NXT champion  ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶p̶o̶t̶e̶n̶t̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶e̶s̶t̶ Tommaso Ciampa very clear last week. The Dream doesn’t think Ciampa should have the belt. I’m pretty on board with it, but Aleister Black does have a rematch he may-or-may-not use, depending on who attacked. However, the belt should not ever be taken from the Blackheart. He has fully won me over with his dastardly ways.

Ricochet retained his belt by pinning Pete Dunne last week after Adam Cole used his rematch. Do you think the feud is over between these two? I certainly hope not, I think they have one more match in them for sure. If they move elsewhere, there are quite a few feuds i’d love to see Ricochet have.

My Thoughts

• Damnit, give me Matt Riddle vs Kassius Ohno on the next tapings! Or Riddle vs really anyone!
• Man, thank god Austin Aires left WWE. What a douche. Watch the last few minutes of Bound for Glory if you’re curious as to why.
• It’s actually pretty surprising that, other than the main event, War Games seems like a really difficult card to predict.

That’s it for tonight! What do you think about tonight’s episode? Let us know by commenting, or by following us on Facebook and Twitter! Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

Last 5!

• Over the Top Rope: Episode XIX | Has WWE failed to build the next generation of stars?
• NXT Preview and Predictions: October 10, 2020
• WWE Super Show Down: Match Card & Predictions 
• Prairie Wrestling Alliance Recap: Fall Fever, September 29, Edmonton
• NXT Preview: October 3, 2020